The sun was already staying out through the later hours
of the evening, and the blooming flowers were bathing in its light.
The air was filled the fresh scent of grass mixed with the smell of grilled
korv coming from a house around the corner. As I walked along I couldn’t help
but try to gather it all in. Just being outside in nature filled me with life. “Someday I’m going to move back here,” I
quietly thought to myself. My companion and I were really used to the quiet, we
never really talked all that much. There were no hard feelings, nor was
anything that barricaded the space between us. Simply put, we were just two
people quite opposite from each other in most everything. One day we made
mention that we both had experience in computer programming, and when we did
come out and talk it was filled with conversation about computers.
We finally had made it back to our apartment after about
a half hours walk, we had been contacting on the way back as a few Swedes
walked past. Yet again we had little success with them. As always we started
off our nightly planning my companion opened up with the usual question,
“anything better that we can do?” In fact there was something that was etching
at my mind a lot these past weeks. I told him that I’d like to leave the
apartment a little earlier than we had been. It would seem that he’d be the one
that would throw at that statement, he was the hardest working missionary in
the field. But that was the problem, he always sat behind our area book while
at home. He would sacrifice lunch to go through the old contacts in that book,
he would take one minute showers so as to not waste time away from that book,
when we had our few minutes at home to ourselves each night, he would have that
book open to the very second when we had to turn out the lights and turn in for
the night. I wish that he wouldn’t worry as much as he did, but also it was
outstanding how much work and care he had for his calling.
However
the thing was that he wanted to work in “That Book” as long as possible before
running out to catch a bus that would take us to our area of work for the day.
While the bus was a ten minute walk from our apartment, he wanted to not leave
the apartment any earlier than two minutes before. It definitely gave me a good
workout, I thought that after returning home from my mission I could compete as
an Olympic athlete with all the running we did. We would make it to the bus,
barely, most of the time. But it was something that still irritated me. He knew
it did so, but it didn’t really change much. And even that evening when I mentioned
again how I’d like to leave a couple minutes earlier, as to avoid the panic of
missing transportation, he disregarded the idea. Again he lived his life those
couple of months behind that area book. After finishing up for the night we threw
ourselves into bed and were instantly overcome by the warm embrace of sleep.
The next morning was again the same as every other
morning. We woke up, we showered and had breakfast, and we sat down to our
studies and planning for the day. This however was going to be a really special
day! There was a less active family that we were working with, and we agreed to
come out to their village and help them with some service activities. They
lived about 20 minutes by train outside the city we worked in, but still service
was the best and we weren’t going to miss out on this opportunity! It meant
that I didn’t need to wear my tie, and such leisure was rarely enjoyed by those
in the service of God. Today was going to be a day that I would enjoy to the
fullest.
But again, just like every other day my companion pushed
reading That Book to the very last second before we had to literally jump up
and run like the wind. Finally after we made it out I was running down that
path that I had ran down a couple hundred times already. The train station was
a couple minutes farther than the buses though, and it wasn’t long before I
burst out into sweat from the pulsing sun, and could feel my calves ripping
beneath me as I jolted step after step after step. We made it to the station
and almost to the tower of stairs that we had to ascend when we heard the
piercing cry of the train’s whistle. I didn’t think that we could run much
faster than we were, but angles must have given an extra push because we just
had to make this train!! Stair after stair went by, I didn’t recall the station
having this many, but somehow that day the steps doubled in number. Time was
frozen during that run, but we finally made it to the top of Babel’s tower! We
saw the train and I had the feeling that we might just make it. Running towards
it I saw the doors closing, I was so close! Just as I was a couple steps from
it I launched myself, but came to a complete halt when I slammed against the
train doors. On the other side of the door was a pale faced companion, being
carried away by a train leaving town.
I
did the only thing I could, I borrowed a phone from a nearby person and called
my companion. After talking we realized that I did not have the keys to our
apartment, the members that were in our branch lived a couple hours away from
the main town, and the next train that left to the city we were headed to
didn’t leave for another two hours. And for my companion to turn around and
come back would take more even more time. There was nothing to be done but for
me to sit there at the station and wait for the next train.
Naturally the thoughts ran through my mind on how I knew
that something like this would happen. There was a mixed feeling of being
right, and feeling sorry because of how sad my companion would be, and also a
feeling of excitement as I sat alone at the station, dressed in jeans and a
t-shirt due to service. If there was any time during my two years of service
that I felt like a normal person, it was here. But the feelings didn’t stick
around too long as a pulled out my scriptures and waited for the train.
Soon enough it came and took me to the destination. Soon
I was standing and staring at my companion. Neither of us knew at first what to
expect, but after a couple quiet seconds we both burst out in laughter and
embraced each other. “Dang Elder, I didn’t know that you hated me that much that
you were willing to hop aboard a train and take off without me!” I said to my Companion.
“You have no idea Elder Tangren” he responded. And we continued laughing for
another couple minutes, losing our breath as we did so. After all, it was a
simple random encounter, nothing much either of us could do about it. These
experiences and stories are worth much, and one learns that they must sit back
and enjoy them, laugh at them. We carried out the rest of the day, helped out
the less actives, made it back in time to take the train back to our city, and
this time as we headed back to our apartment along the all too familiar path,
it was done so slowly and enjoyably. We had our weekly planning, when my
companion asked the same question “What could be done better” we both knew the
answer, we finished the planning, and I took an early hop into bed as I watched
my companion open up the area book once again.
The next morning was as routine as usual. We got up, we
took our showers, we ate our breakfast, had our studies. Afterwards I put on my
shoes and went into the study room to inform my companion it was time to go,
but he wasn’t there! Confused I walked back near the front door and saw him
standing there all ready to go. It was something new I never saw from him. As we
made it to the bus stop I couldn’t help but to smile in victory as we stood
there for a minute before the bus came. He saw my expression, but remained
silent keeping to himself. We made it on
to the bus, pushed shoulder to shoulder with those standing at the front of the
bus, and found a couple of seats in the far back. As we sat down that was when
he finally stared me directly in the eyes. With a smug little smirk on his face
he pulled the area book out from his backpack!
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